I realize in the big scheme of things, the complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste found in most mid-to-high end hotel rooms is minimal. But, based on a recent stay at the Grand Hyatt Incheon (just outside of Seoul, South Korea), I am wondering if the Grand Hyatt brand is moving away from complimentary toothbrushes.

The Grand Hyatt Incheon

A few friends and I had decided to get a day room at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, as we had a roughly 14 hour layover during the day and figured it would be helpful to have a base of operations. So we checked into a room in the West Tower (this was the new tower built around the time the hotel switched brands from a Regency to a Grand). The room was pretty standard, but the thing that struck me was what was in the bathroom drawer.

Cost for a Toothbrush and Toothpaste at the Grand Hyatt Incheon

Now I didn’t particularly need the toothbrush or toothpaste – I had brought my own on this particular trip. But seeing the charge, I had to inquire.

A public tweet garnered a collection of responses, generally expressing distaste.

The tweet also received a request from the Hyatt Concierge team to Direct Message them. I explained my concerns, and they forwarded those concerns on to the hotel’s Executive Assistant Manager, who I caught up with later that evening in the lounge.

Is the Grand Hyatt brand moving away from complimentary toothbrushes?

Speaking with the hotel’s Executive Assistant Manager, it seemed that the direction from Chicago, or Hyatt Corporate was to limit one gratis toothbrush per standard room, with additional toothbrushes and toothpaste at a cost (in this case, 6,600 Won which translates to $6.14 US).

I haven’t been able to get Hyatt to confirm this, but, it certainly is one data point indicating that Grand Hyatt brand may be moving away from complimentary toothbrushes.

Moving away from complimentary toothbrushes at Grand Hyatt hotels, it would seem like a small cost savings, though I’d imagine it could generate a decent amount of frustration.

Wrapping Up

If Hyatt really is moving away from offering complimentary toothbrushes at Grand Hyatt branded hotels, it’s not a tectonic shift. It makes me wonder if this is more akin to American Airlines removing olives from the salad in domestic first class back in the 1980’s.I doubt it will change anyone’s stay habits, but it still strikes me as cheap, especially when Grand Hyatt’s are largely viewed as a high quality hotel brand. Obviously Grand’s are behind the Andaz and Park Hyatt brands, but I’d argue that they would fall as a close 3rd in the Hyatt family.

What do you think of the possibility of the Grand Hyatt brand no longer offering complimentary toothbrushes?

Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, Montego Bay Jamaica

I wanted to try to be consistent with my review structure as compared to Hyatt Zilara Cancun. I’ll say at the onset that I had fairly high expectations.

Lunch at Jamaican Rootz At Horizons:

Our flight in was fairly early, so we ended up grabbing a bight to eat at the Jamaican restaurant on the beach. It was a logical way to start the day.

The sea breeze was great, the view was nice, and I ordered chicken.

My wife ordered a beef dish.

And of course there was pie. Everyone loves pie.

And cake, in this case, cheesecake, which was enjoyable.

During the evening, the restaurant was lit up quite nicely.

Dinner at Brazilian Steakhouse:

Our first night, we opted for the Brazilian Steakhouse. We figured we might need a relaxing day at the pool or frequent laps around the property the next day, so we wanted to ensure we visited there early in our stay.

Overall, the meat was good, not great. The service was very good, and the buffett of greens and grains was as you would expect.

Dessert was nice as well.

Back at the room, we ordered Bread Pudding, every single night!Unfortunately quality and quantity varied.

Also, a benefit (I think) of the Butler Suite was that we always had a bottle of bubbly on ice in the room.

Breakfast Room Service:

We ordered room service for breakfast every morning, and had varying results.

Every time it was very well displayed.

I typically enjoyed french toast and eggs, my wife enjoyed eggs with some ham.

Breakfast Buffet:

While we didn’t actually eat at the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall’s buffet, we did check it out, and it looked pretty nice.

More breakfast buffet

More breakfast buffet spread.

Warm options at the breakfast buffet.

Union Jacks:

Union Jacks, while touted as a British pub, definitely had a mix of things. I will say, it did not disappoint, even with its menagerie of culinary offerings.

I chose a Heineken and a meat pie. The Heineken was ok–nothing compared to a true British ale!–but the meat pie was wonderful. So wonderful that I would give the dish high regards with regard to the entire Zilara-Ziva compound’s offerings.

FEZ:

While not a restaurant, Fez, a floor above Union Jacks, was a bar offering. It had Hookah options–though we did not partake–and a great view of the evening entertainment.

Fez also had a comfortable area to watch a movie in; I don’t recall the movie they were projecting in the photo below, but, as you can see, many were excited to see it.

Wrapping Up

Overall, the food at the Zilara Rose Hall was probably the biggest disappointment, but there were some high points. Union Jacks being one of them. I think the message to take away though is that there are plenty of options, and you are bound to find something that you enjoy.

The Weekly Travel News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel:

Hyatt takes Suite Upgrades seriously, generally speaking the representative will put you on hold so they can confirm with the hotel. In the off chance that the hotel does not honor that upgrade upon check-in, good things can still happen, just see FQF’s account.

Miles and Points:

Frequent Miler and a whole slew of others are covering a United Airlines Prepaid Card. It will be a partnership with Netspend, which gives us an idea of how it will play with manufacturing spend. But there is so much more that is still unclear.

This is a long overdue post, as it was just about a year ago, that my wife and spent our anniversary at the one and only Park Hyatt Sydney.

The Park Hyatt Sydney, nested below the Sydney Harbor Bridge, is one of the top Hyatt hotels, as a Category 7. We spent two nights here, utilizing the sign-up bonus from my Chase Hyatt credit card, and we felt that it was a good value.

Arriving at the Sydney Park Hyatt, we ended up walking in. You see, coming from the airport, its fairly easy to just take the train to the Circular Quay station, and from there, its just a 5-10 minute walk to the hotel.

The main entrance to the Park Hyatt Sydney

Checking in to the Park Hyatt Sydney

We arrived somewhat early for check-in, but we were immediately accommodated, and escorted to our room for check-in. Unfortunately, because we were on a “free” vs. “paid” rate, we couldn’t use a confirmed suite upgrade, but we were more than satisfied with our room.

Also of note, when the kind woman checking us in, learned that we were celebrating our Anniversary, she swapped out the normal Diamond Welcome amenity bottle of red or white wine for a bottle of Chandon Sparkling Wine. Small things, but we certainly appreciated the bubbly!

The Room

For a city hotel, the room felt pretty standard, if a little bigger than expected. We of course didn’t have the kind of suite we had at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, but it was very comfortable.

There was a nice sitting area, and of course a nice view of the Rocks.

I’ll also note, that the balcony, which I spent a fair amount of time out on, was very comfortable and had a partial view of the Sydney Opera House.

Park Hyatt Sydney – The Bed

While the bathroom didn’t offer amazing privacy, if you were traveling with someone else, you could make things work. That said, it was a very nice bathroom, and the openness certainly made it feel even larger.

The minibar included a nespresso machine, which is always nice to see.

The selections in the minibar fridge, of course, were at the level you would expect for a Park Hyatt.

Park Hyatt Sydney Amenities: The Gym and Pool

While I’m not known for gracing many gyms, I just had to check out the Gym, and of course the rooftop pool.

One thing of note – there are complimentary cold bottles of water in the gym, as well as showers. So if you’re thirsty, or happen to have a late flight, the gym could very well be on your list of places to visit. Or, you know, if you want to work out, I suppose that works too…

While the rooftop pool feels a bit small, the views are amazing, situated just to the side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The pool also had a great view of the cruise terminal, which makes things even more entertaining, if a particular cruise ship is departing!

Lobby Bar

A hotel like the Park Hyatt Sydney has to have a nice lobby bar, and it certainly did not disappoint. We only had a couple of drinks in the lobby bar, but did find it to be nice, with good views of the harbour.

Breakfast

As a Hyatt Diamond (soon to be Hyatt Globalist), we were entitled to breakfast in the restaurant, and found the spread to be wonderful.

For lovers of carbs, well, you will be on cloud 9.

I was happy to try a bunch of things that were new to me, like Vanilla Croissant Pudding.

Full length refrigerators at the Park Hyatt Sydney brunch spread.

In addition to the wonderful spread, there was also a la carte options.

My favorite was the french toast, that included some chocolate ganache. It was absolutely wonderful.

Wrapping Up

The Park Hyatt Sydney regularly goes for north of $500-800 per night. It has an excellent location, right on the Sydney Harbour, and the service and amenities are excellent for a city hotel. I particularly enjoyed the wonderful view from the room, and the rather extensive spread at breakfast.

Is the Park Hyatt Sydney a must splurge? Unequivocally. But, it really is a wonderful hotel, if you are celebrating a special event, or want to spend the points to enjoy the luxury.

I’ve held top tier elite status in hotels and airlines for the better part of the last decade. While I started out earning status mostly from business travel (aka Other People’s Money), I came to appreciate the top tier status at Marriott, then Hyatt, and United, then American. As I came to appreciate that status, I was more willing to spend a little extra to get that extra elite qualifying night or stay, and even have done a crazy mileage run or two.

Thus my point – Airlines are essentially telling us, that unless you are wealthy enough to spend significantly, or have access to Other People’s Money (OPM), you aren’t valuable to them. How much do they want you to spend? $12,000 or more. Wow.

Changing Tides – Hotel Elite Status

In 2012, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) introduced a bunch of new benefits, many geared toward members that qualified via Nights rather than Stays. They didn’t take anything away, necessarily from those Platinum members who qualified via 25 stays, but they certainly added benefits for members who stayed 50 or 75 nights. A year or two later, they introduced a 100 night level, where you get Starwood Ambassador status, including access to a single point of contact with SPG for all of your needs. This was and continues to be a positive.

Well, today we learn of rumors of Hyatt changes that I think people with OPM will like, however, for leisure travelers–and even folks who travel a bunch but are hamstrung by Hyatt’s smaller footprint–are sure to be disappointed. This new program, World of Hyattis reported to have four membership tiers. For the top tier, what once required 50 nights or 25 stays to qualify for, will no require 60 nights or 100,000 base points. How do you earn base points? Well, you get 5 for every dollar spent. So, you can get World of Hyatt’s Top Tier Globalist status for either 60 nights (figure $6-10k if you vary it up), or $20k spend at Hyatt.

I think on the surface, this is a big indication that earning status through stays is likely going away as soon as the Marriott-SPG merger figures out things.

What does this mean going forward?

These developments hurt the frequent leisure traveler the most. For those that don’t have a business travel budget, and are not independently wealthy, the idea of having and maintaining status becomes significantly more unobtainium. To simply maintain airline status and Hyatt status, one would be looking at $20,000 in travel spend per year, and that doesn’t even include the time commitment that is also required — e.g. 100,000 equivalent miles flown, and 60 nights in a Hyatt.

The fact is, the economy is doing well–for the time being–and loyalty programs see that this is the time where they can make changes, and identify and best reward their absolute highest spenders. From a business standpoint, that’s great. My concern though, is that all of these negative changes will no doubt turn off loyal customers, who go out of their way to fly the airline that they’ve been loyal to for so many years, or who consider a destination based on the hotel chain they have loyalty to.

Loyalty may not be dead for the frequent leisure traveler, but, it is not for lack of trying.

Hyatt Zilara Cancun, Mexico for a long weekend

The Hyatt Zilara Cancun has a number of great restaurants. Most are casual, but one is more formal.

Pelicanos

Pelicanos is the Hyatt Zilara Cancun’s kind’ve “beachy restaurant”, it has a pool bar, as well as a regular dining area, that is open air, and with a wonderful view of the pool on two sides, and the beach and ocean on the other. The food was a mix of standard western fare, plus some Mexican options. Our favorite was the dessert.

Spice – Buffet

There was a buffet, which was our primary choice for breakfast. As you would expect, they had made-to-order eggs, a variety of other options, including a fresh juice bar.

Spice also served dinner. In the evening, we peaked our heads in (since we were busy trying other restaurants), and saw a very nice spread as well.

And who could pass up the gelato! (did I mention the desserts at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun were quite good?)

Asiana

Two of our three nights at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, we enjoyed dinner at Asiana.

It was so good, that despite the wonderful hibachi show, we forgot to take pictures of the actual food. But here’s the menu. This is a place where you go for the show, and are pleasantly surprised by the food. Trust me, get the Yakimeshi rice, its essentially fried rice, and it is one of the best things on the menu–and that is not to say the proteins aren’t great too!

Chef’s Plate

Our friend Jeanne mentioned that we absolutely had to try the Chef’s Plate. It did not disappoint.

It’s a private room, essentially with about a dozen or so chairs, and a view of the kitchen. The thing that spoke to me most about this, was that while they had a fixed menu each night, they were able to modify it, if you had particular allergies or things you wanted to avoid.

We had opted for Monday, primarily because of the Short Angus Beef.

What follows is each particular dish. Of particular note, for the first dish though, are the three blue dots, those imply that the dish is “special”, as I had requested mine to be served without the crab and tuna–I don’t enjoy seafood as much.

The Foie Gras Capuccino was much better than it sounds. The bacon really came off strong, but it really made it to be quite the conversation piece.

Next there was a palate cleanser, they called it Soursop and Gin Raviolis, which confused us, but we just went with it.

Next was the Rockefeller Shrimp.

And the distant cousin, Rockefeller Chicken.

And then the Short Ribs, which were great, although we were all starting to get a bit full at this point.

We finished off with a martini and coconut cream banana, and truffle.

Wrapping Up

All of the dining establishments at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun were wonderful. The Chef’s Plate rose above the rest, but, I suspect that is by design. Even if the entire menu is not to your liking–because, perhaps, an aversion to seafood–they can tailor it a bit. You also get a wonderful opportunity to socialize with other guests. I’d caveat that the Chef’s Plate requires pants and a collared shirt for men. I think all the other restaurants had a much more relaxed dress code.

In entirety, we enjoyed our stay at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, there were some things that threw me for a loop, like the evening shows, but really, it is an awesome hotel, and I would highly recommend it to folks that are just dipping their toes into the idea of an all inclusive. I’m sure I didn’t consume enough to justify the rack room rate, but, considering I burned the equivalent points as a night at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, I felt like we got a pretty good value.

Hyatt Zilara Cancun, Mexico for a long weekend

The Hyatt Zilara Cancun has so much to see and do, that we only left the property once, for a walk on the beach.

Pool

The pool spans nearly the entire property along the beach. There were dozens of cabana’s, a swim up pool bar at Pelicano’s, a water volleyball area, and excellent service from the attendants walking throughout.

We opted to get photos of the pool at night, because that was the only time we could get it relatively empty. It was really quite tranquil at night, too.

Main Area

The main area of the Hyatt Zilara Cancun was a source of interesting events every night except for Sunday. There were folks playing with fire, climbing drapes (I joke), there was a pop-up market, that had freshly made churro’s and other Mexican sweets.

The evening shows were entertaining.

The Saturday evening market.

Mexican sweets, this was filled with cheese. Churro’s were behind this stand.

There was also a store for necessities, like sunscreen.

Spa

Before we went, we had decided that if there was a “reasonable” (by US price standards, not Southeast Asia), we’d consider having a spa treatment, since the facility looked quite nice in photos. When we checked in, there was a “deal” for a 90 minute couples massage. This also got us access to the spa’s facilities (although I think we might have had access by virtue of our Hyatt diamond status).

There were three showers.

There were two hot tubs, as well as a cold plunge. Finally, there was also a sauna and a steam room.

Gym

The Gym was not co-located with the Spa, and had perhaps the best air conditioning in the entire hotel, naturally.

It was ADA compliant.

There plenty of pieces of workout equipment. I’m not really an expert in this area, but things looked modern.

There was also a lap pool outside, though it was closed when we walked through.

And then there was this… which left me a little confused.

This studio was identified as “Pilates Studio” so I assume that is what these contraptions were.

Hyatt Zilara Cancun 24 Hour cafe

The place we spent a lot of time, was the 24 Hour Lounge. It was stocked with some of the coldest beer in the hotel, some light bites, a couple of pool tables, a ping pong table, and generally had the Olympics on (we were there during week two).

Its important to note, that there was an attendant in the lounge whenever we were there, he kept everything stocked, and even set up the pool tables when not being used. He was one of the most polite, and hard working staff members at the hotel.

Conclusion

Overall, the Hyatt Zilara Cancun had excellent amenities. Despite the number of people at the hotel (it was north of 85% capacity when we were there), it didn’t truly feel crowded, even despite a day of heavy rains.

Hyatt Zilara Cancun, Mexico for a long weekend

Hyatt Zilara Hotel Transfer

Arriving into Cancun, I was struck by how new the airport looked and smelled. The one thing that kept ringing the bell in the back of my mind though, was the fact that the hotel hadn’t given us any details about where to find the driver. There were a ton of folks that wanted to help and give us a ride to the hotel (for a fee, of course). We looked around for a while, but saw no signage at all. Finally, I agreed to pay $20 per person for the drive to the hotel. Ironically, right as we were leaving–mind you this was about 20-30 minutes after we landed–we saw a Hyatt Zilara SUV driving into the airport grounds. Our choice had been made at that point.

Luckily, there is an Air Margaritaville, if you want to grab a beverage to consider your airport transfer options.

The drive to the hotel took about 20 minutes.

Hyatt Zilara Cancun Arrival Experience

We were welcomed from the moment the car drove up. Everyone was very helpful and offered to store our bags if the room wasn’t ready. As we only had our carry-on we decided to keep our bags and find out for ourselves if the room was ready.

The Arrivals lounge for Hyatt Diamonds was closed so they had us check in at the normal check-in desks.

Gina, who checked us in (and out) was very helpful. She made sure that we had our dinner reservations and knew where everything was located.

Arrival Mimosa at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun

Hyatt Zilara Cancun Room

They upgraded us to a (insert name of room) room. It was more then enough room for the couple nights.

The tub took up quite a bit of room though.

The bed was comfortable.

The bathroom had a shower with a view and a sink. In the room, as well as a another outside of the conventional bathroom area.

Hyatt Zilara Sink 1

Hyatt Zilara Sink 2

There was the closet, that included a safe, however, nothing special there.

And since it was an all inclusive the mini bar fridge was fully stocked. Though they need to upgrade the snacks.

While the full liquor bottles were a nice touch, I think I might have liked a bit higher shelf — I tend to drink Appleton’s rum, for example.

There was also a nespresso, however we could never find any of the pods.

Pro Tip: Do make sure you call for turn down. We forgot one night and missed out.

Conclusion – Hyatt Zilara Cancun Room

Overall, we felt the room was fantastic. The view was nice, the bed was comfortable. The pillows were good, and further bolstered by the fact that they provide additional pillows based on your desire (e.g. firm, soft, relaxing, etc.) at check-in.

The Weekly News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel Update reports that Amazon is offering a pilot program for folks to work 30 hours a week, but accept a 25% pay cut. They get to keep their benefits, and get the flexibility of having that extra 10 hours a week to do with as they please. I like it. I’m not sure that I’d go for it at this stage in my life, but its a great concept.

The Weekly News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel

Ed reviews United’s new domestic first class seat. I love seeing the power (even if awkward), but my favorite part is the cradle recline style, vs. seat back recline. He also highlights an issue that I’m seeing more and more commonly – a lack of lumbar support. Overall, it sounds like the seat is meh at best.

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